China Executes 13 In Piracy Case

Friday, January 28, 2000

China has executed 13 people for clubbing 23 seamen to death and throwing their bodies overboard in the country's biggest piracy case in 50 years, news reports said. China's Supreme People's Court issued the order of execution on Jan. 28 after approving death sentences passed on the 13 for hijacking the Cheung Son cargo ship in November 1998 in Chinese waters.

Posing as Chinese paramilitary police, the pirates hijacked the bulk carrier and clubbed 23 Chinese sailors to death before throwing their bodies overboard tied to weights.

The pirates, including Chinese citizen Weng Siliang and an Indonesian identified as Soni Wee, sold the contraband for $300,000 and also stole cash, Xinhua said. Weng and Wee also were involved in the hijacking of two foreign ships.